Menu

Category Archives: C. J. Mahaney

Post navigation

The theme of T4G/18 is about being distinct from the world. The usual suspects led the conference: Mohler, Dever, Duncan, Mahaney, DeYoung, Piper, MacArthur, Chandler, Anyabwile, and Platt.

From the website:

What began as a friendship between four pastors from across denominational traditions has burgeoned into a biennial conference for thousands of pastors and church leaders who, for all their differences, are committed to standing together for the main thing—the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Over a decade of consequential gatherings focused on expositional preaching (2006), biblical theology (2008), the gospel (2010), conversion (2012), evangelism (2014), and the Reformation (2016), T4G has sought to reaffirm and reiterate the central doctrine of the Christian faith and to encourage local churches around the world to do the same.

The ensuing years have brought with them many new faces, along with seismic cultural shifts and challenges for Christian ministry. And yet the conference has grown as more and more pastors discover that they share the same gospel-centered ambition.

Twelve years ago, at the inaugural T4G, we adopted a series of theological positions in the form of affirmations and denials. “We are convinced,” we wrote, “that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has been misrepresented, misunderstood, and marginalized in many Churches and among many who claim the name of Christ.”

As false gospels circulate and pastors are tempted to bow to cultural pressures, we remain convinced that the church is in a moment of spiritual crisis. Going on twelve years, buoyed by Christ’s promise that the gates of hell will not prevail against it, we remain convinced of the need for a full and gladdening recovery of the gospel in the church.

This past June the Resolved Conference was held in Palm Springs, and featured it’s brain child Rick Holland and many of his usual suspects: John MacArthur, Al Mohler, C.J. Mahaney and Steve Lawson. This was a fantastic conference, not that I would expect anything less.

Plant! is about vision and action and ideas outside the box. Sovereign Grace Ministries is gathering church planting thinkers and doers from Acts 29, PCA, IX Marks, and the Southern Baptist Convention for conversation across the lines. It’s a conference, yes, but it’s so much more. Whatever your background, if you’re a church planter or ever hope to throw yourself into the mission of the gospel through church planting, you’ll love what you encounter at Plant!.

This years T4G (or T4TG as R. C. Sproul suggests it should be renamed) was a great conference. Powerful and thought provoking messages from almost all the speakers.

Dever’s message on the church putting the Gospel on display was quintessential Dever.

Sproul was phenomenal (even though C.J. didn’t understand it). He looked at how philosophy and the German higher critics deviated from the Gospel, and demonstrated how their mistakes are being embraced today. This was one of the best lectures I’ve ever heard about theological liberalism.

Mohler, as in the last T4G, looks at how our current Christian cultures evangelical zeal often undermines the Gospel itself.

In the same vein, Thabiti unmasks the problem clearly about how the contemporary evangelical fixation with cultural engagement is a disastrous derailment of the Gospel.

MacArthur’s theology of sleep is a theology of the Gospel, because ultimately the salvation of the unbeliever is a work of God, not a work of man, and that allows him to sleep at night. The Arminian gospel so prevalent today, if taken to it’s logical conclusion, should drive us insane because it makes salvation dependent upon us.

Piper, well, what can you say about Piper?

Ligon Duncan makes a great case for why we need to be reading the original sources of the early church fathers, and helps us to navigate the criticisms brought upon them. Quite an eye-opener.

Matt Chandler talks briefly and movingly about how his efforts to prepare his people for suffering was God’s way of preparing him for his brain cancer. Matt, as always, has very amusing ways of getting across solid theology.

Don’t miss the God Exposed Conference, a pastors conference focusing on expositional preaching. This is a much needed conference which was co-sponsored by 9Marks ministry and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

To begin with, Dan Akin’s message is one of those defining messages that set the standard for what preaching is meant to be. Akin looks at the preacher in Ecclesiastes. He begins his message by stating the phrase, ‘The most important thing about any message is what you say, but how you say it has never been more important.’ Akin comes down hard (helpfully so) on the need for preaching to engage and hold interest in the listener. He even goes so far to say that it is a sin for a preacher to be boring. This is a message you will want to listen to twice (which I did).

Mark Dever opens the conference with a good anticipatory message and concludes it with a fantastic message. In fact, all of the speakers made very thoughtful and engaging contributions to the conference.

One of the unique qualities of this conference is something that I first heard at T4G, and that is that immediately after the message all the speakers gather to discuss the message–a very helpful practice.

C. J. Mahaney, Jeff Purswell and Bob Kauflin gather for a lengthy discussion reflecting on their many years of ministry together at Covenant Life and Sovereign Grace.

There is one excellent observation I will leave you with: The boys were talking about preparation for worship, and C.J. said, the Holy Spirit is not thwarted by planning or preparation. Some believe the Spirit works spontaneously, but the Holy Spirit is more at work when we are prepared than when we are not.

David sees the secular culture having taken counseling and the direct dealing of life’s issues out of the churches hands. His purpose is to bring biblical answers to life’s trials and difficulties, and to give tools the church to help Christian’s think biblically when it comes to counseling.

This is a very helpful interview, and will give you a biblical perspective of this subject that is so loaded with dangers and misuse.

C. J. Mahaney has put together a series of 5 to 7 minute interviews with David Powlison about a variety of subjects. C. J. reads his favorite quotes of what Powlison has written and asks him to elaborate on them.

This years Resolved Conference was on the popular subject of sin, and the messages are excellent. The speakers spoke about understanding sin and how to fight sin in your life. The theme of the conference is from John Owen who wrote “Be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”

Steve Lawson’s message “Blessed Bankruptcy” looks at Matthew 5:3, “Blessed are the poor in spirit” and is one of the best messages I’ve heard on this beattitude. Don’t miss this one.

John MacArthur’s message “The Sanctifying Shepherd” is fantastic, and desperately needed in our current climate of wild and crazy church planting and evangelism techniques. MacArthur brings us back to take a sober look at the shepherding of our Lord Jesus Christ who alone has the power to save and sanctify. I think many honest church strategists will listen to this and discover they are operating outside of the pasture that Christ is.

MacArthur’s message “A Theology of Creation” is the same message he gave at the Shepherd’s Conference. Though a repeat, if you have not heard it, it is a look at how a literal 6 day creation is the only honest way to deal with Genesis 1-3. MacArthur makes a great case for the miraculous nature of creation which is beyond scientific means of measuring and explaining.

Rick Holland takes a hard look at the problem of sexual sin in the church and presents a biblical strategy for fighting it.

All in all, this Resolved Conference continues to affirm that Resolved is one of the best conferences in the evangelical world, not just for college students, but for anyone who likes sound theology powerfully proclaimed.